REPOSITIONING BANK OF AMERICA

APRIL 2013

What

has happened?
Over the weekend, and during the NCAA Final Four, one of the most heavily watched events in the U.S., Bank of America launched a new brand position that centers on the connections it makes for consumers and clients. This reposition was launched through a multi-channel, integrated campaign. It comes on the heels of a significant investment made by the Bank of America to update its banking centers and digital banking capabilities.

Why 1 2

did it happen?
The reposition was not unexpected for two reasons:
Through its acquisition of Countrywide and Merrill Lynch, the Bank of America had become a much different organization. Defining a new, common purpose to reflect its expanded capabilities and culture was critical for the brands and the employees. The Bank of America brand had been greatly tarnished over the last few years.
} Shouldered more blame than any other financial institution for contributing to the recession, largely due to its acquisition of Countrywide. } Business changes like tightened lending standards and leading the industry in foreclosures made it no longer possible to claim being the provider of opportunities. } Public intentions of charging a $5 fee to use a debit card, re-pricing checking accounts, and closing business and home-equity lines of credit, made it an easy target for already-angry customers.

Bank of America had become the symbol of everything that was wrong with big banks. Its employees suffered from low morale and lacked a clear understanding or belief in the direction of the company.

What

is the new idea?

The new idea demonstrates that Bank of America is committed to better, one connection at a time.
What does it mean? The idea of facilitating connections, coupled with a tone that openly admits that the Bank is not at the center of anyones life, is a significant departure from being the Bank of Opportunity. It is more humble and more true to what the organization is looking to deliver. While helping connect people and clients to their money, financing, financial information and expertise is certainly true of its role, it is not at all unique to Bank of America within the financial industry. The idea of human connections has merit in this category; however we question how its being brought to life. To date, the work lacks clarity around the end benefit and precision around how connections works to help stakeholders achieve a better experience. Finally, outside of finance, the idea of connecting is ripe territory for countless other industries too. It is more humble and more true to what the organization is looking to deliver.

Tagline

TAGLINES
Consumer & Small Business Bank: Lifes better when were connected Commercial, Investment Bank and Global Markets: The power of global connections Notable creative language: We know were not the center of your life, but well do our best to help you connect to what is

How
IN-STORE:

it comes to life:
Bank of America spent the last year remodeling 2,000 of its 5,400 branches across the country. Like many retailers, Bank of America wants its physical locations to provide an experience, not just a transaction center. Private rooms are available for meetings with financial specialists; about 100 branches have rooms with videoconferencing capabilities, too, for customers to be able to meet with specialists remotely if a branch doesnt have someone on-site. The bank currently has 6,500 specialists financial advisers, mortgage loan officers and small-business bankers staffing its branches and phone lines, and hopes to have 7,800 available by the end of the year. Face-to-face interactions are a key part of what Bank of America is trying to accomplish. After all the heat banks took during and after the financial crisis, part of Bank of Americas transformation is about regaining customer trust.

How

it comes to life (cont.):

ADVERTISING:
All TV spots share a device that takes the viewer back in time to the point at which Bank of America connected the parties in the story to something they needed in order to advance. Masterbrand TV: Anthem spot Portraits focuses on a familys evolution and uses a married couple as a metaphor. This has the potential to demonstrate that the Bank understands whats truly important to its customers. The execution is hard to follow, however, and lacks a clear role for the Bank leaving viewers to figure that out.

Brand spots focus on the connection between Bank of America and communities across the United States. For example, in San Diego the spot demonstrates how researchers, entrepreneurs and bankers shared a vision to help foster the biofuel industry claiming that Bank of America connected minds and technology to help fuel a nations future. These executions feel very familiar to a lot of work in the finance and B2B space.

CLICK TO VISIT BANK OF AMERICAS YOUTUBE CHANNEL

How

it comes to life (cont.):

Consumer Bank TV: Two other Consumer spots also rotate into the mix. One focuses on the BankAmericard Credit Card and the other on BankAmeriDeals, a cash-back rewards program. Both were heavily marketed prior to the reposition and have been largely reworked with the new campaign device. In this case, telling the story backwards seems to detract from the Banks ability to clearly communicate what are already somewhat complex value propositions.

ADVERTISING:
Business, Investment Banking and Global Markets TV: Each execution highlights a business or organization that was helped by BAC/ BACML banking or financing. This model has become the go-to strategy for nearly all Banks. While these executions communicate the Banks role, they fail to differentiate it from competitors.

CLICK TO VISIT BANK OF AMERICAS YOUTUBE CHANNEL

How

it comes to life (cont.):

Employees Video: Highlights employees from all of the Bank of America companies, and lets them tell viewers in their own words about the way they do business. Liberal use of terms like relationships, human, and trust convey a nice tone for the Bank, and this kind of employee message has performed strongly in the past for rallying internal teams.

PRINT:
Brand print launched Monday, April 8th in publications like the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post.

AD CODE: BACB-11295

SOURCE: Washington Post-APR 8 13

Page 1 of 2

AD CODE: BACB-11295

SOURCE: Washington Post-APR 8 13

Page 2 of 2

How
OUTDOOR:

it comes to life (cont.):

Utilizing their Times Square billboard, Bank of America featured non-profit organizations theyre connected to.

PARTNERSHIPS:
A new partnership with online educational website Khan Academy offers to teach its customers about financial literacy. Khan Academy is a non-profit education website that provides free access to video lessons and exercises on everything from basic math, to art history, to organic chemistry. Its new site, BetterMoneyHabits.com, will be open to everyone, not just Bank of America customers, and it will host a combination of Bank of America and Khanproduced content on topics such as understanding mortgages and steps toward getting out of debt.

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How
DIGITAL:

it comes to life (cont.):

Connections is a challenging position for Bank of America to take, unless backed up with a digital strategy that offers real, tangible, enhanced connection with consumers. The campaign did show an innovative use of the Bank of Americas Times Square outdoor property (keeping in mind the scale of Times Square is only so big). The Bank of America donated 30% of its Times Square ad space to its community partners whom they support, such as the Wounded Warrior Project, and the messages were designed to amplify Bank of Americas social buzz via Facebook and Twitter as both the organizations and followers of organizations tweeted and retweeted the billboards. The tweets about the Times Square ads were retweeted by Bank of America with a generic link to Bank of Americas YouTube channel to view its TV spots and employee testimonials. This presents a missed opportunity to truly engage with consumers who are talking about the Bank of America. The 300K+ Bank of America Twitter followers and their connections only converted to an average of 200 views per each of the seven spots. The YouTube channel was not branded with the look and feel of the campaign, which may have added to the drop-off. The Bank of America site was branded, but did little to improve connection with consumers beyond new graphics and embedded TV spots. Giving its premium Times Square real estate to its community partners is a good demonstration of facilitating connection, driving Twitter and social media involvement, and deeper engagement with the brand. Driving Twitter traffic to YouTube to watch TV spots, however, is not. Well continue to monitor the digital rollout of the campaign as we expect more work to launch.

11

How
DIGITAL:
PAID MEDIA PAID MEDIA PAID MEDIA PAID MEDIA

it comes to life (cont.):

SOCIAL MEDIA SOCIAL MEDIA SOCIAL MEDIA SOCIAL MEDIA

DIGITAL PAID MEDIA. DIGITAL PAID MEDIA. BUSINESS AS USUAL. BUSINESS AS USUAL. NEW BANNERADS NEW FOR BANNER ADS FOR DIGITAL MEDIA. DIGITAL MEDIA. GLOBAL PAID AMBASSADOR GLOBAL PAID AMBASSADOR BUSINESS BUSINESS AS USUAL. USUAL. TIMES SUPPORTS WOMEN SUPPORTS IN AS WOMEN IN SQUARE PROPERTY TIMES SQUARE PROPERTY NEW BANNERADS FOR NEW BANNER ADSGIVES FOR MEDIA SPACE BUSINESS. BUSINESS. GIVES TO MEDIA ALL SPACE TO ALL AMBASSADOR GLOBAL GLOBAL NO PAIDAMBASSADOR MEDIA NO TO PAID SUPPORT MEDIA TOPARTNERS SUPPORT TO SHARE PARTNERS TO SHARE TIMES SUPPORTS WOMEN IN SQUARE ON PROPERTY SUPPORTS WOMEN IN FOLLOW TIMES SQUARE ON PROPERTY NEW MESSAGING. NEW MESSAGING. AND AND TWITTER. FOLLOW TWITTER. BUSINESS. GIVES MEDIA SPACE TO ALL SPACE TO ALL BUSINESS. GIVES MEDIA NO PAID MEDIA NO TO PAID SUPPORT MEDIA TOPARTNERS SUPPORT TO SHARE PARTNERS TO SHARE NEW MESSAGING. TWITTER. NEW MESSAGING. AND FOLLOW ON AND FOLLOW ON TWITTER. CONTENT CONTENT CONTENT CONTENT

TWITTER TWITTER BOOSTED BY SUPPORTERS BOOSTED BY OF SUPPORTERS CAUSES AND OF BOA CAUSES AND BOA RETWEETS. TWEETS RETWEETS. ALL PUSH TWEETS TO YOUTUBE ALL PUSH AND TO YOUTUBE SITE. AND SITE. TWITTER BOOSTED TWITTER BY SUPPORTERS OF CAUSES AND BOA BOOSTED BY SUPPORTERS OF CAUSES AND BOA RETWEETS. TWEETS ALL PUSH TO YOUTUBE AND SITE. RETWEETS. TWEETS ALL PUSH TO YOUTUBE AND SITE. SITE/APP SITE/APP SITE/APP SITE/APP

DISCONNECT -DISCONNECT FEW VIEWS ON YOUTUBE. - FEW VIEWS ON YOUTUBE. COMMUNITY COMMUNITY SECTION SHUTSECTION OFF. NO COMMENTS SHUT OFF. NO COMMENTS ALLOWED ON POSTS. YOUTUBE DOESNT REFLECT NEW DESIGN. ALLOWED ON POSTS. YOUTUBE DOESNT REFLECT NEW DESIGN. DISCONNECT -DISCONNECT FEW VIEWS ON YOUTUBE. - FEW VIEWS ON YOUTUBE. COMMUNITY SECTION SHUTSECTION OFF. NO COMMENTS COMMUNITY SHUT OFF. NO COMMENTS Sunday, April 7, Sunday, 13 April 7, 13 ALLOWED ON POSTS. YOUTUBE DOESNT REFLECT NEW DESIGN. ALLOWED ON POSTS. YOUTUBE DOESNT REFLECT NEW DESIGN.

FURTHER-DISCONNECT FURTHER DISCONNECT SITE SITE VANITY URL EMPLOYEE POSTS. VANITY URL EMPLOYEE POSTS. SHOWS NEW DESIGN. SHOWS NEW DESIGN. SIMPLY REWATCH SIMPLY NOTHING NOTHING WHAT YOUVE WHAT REWATCH YOUVE USEFUL ADDEDUSEFUL TO SITEADDED TO SITE FURTHER DISCONNECT -DISCONNECT FURTHER JUST SEEN. NO COMMENTS. JUST SEEN. NO COMMENTS. EXCEPT VIDEO CONTENT. EXCEPT VIDEO CONTENT. SITE VANITY URL EMPLOYEE POSTS. SHOWS NEW DESIGN. SITE VANITY URL EMPLOYEE POSTS. SHOWS NEW DESIGN. SIMPLY REWATCH SIMPLY NOTHING WHAT YOUVE WHAT ADDEDUSEFUL TO SITEADDED TO SITE NOTHING REWATCH YOUVE USEFUL JUST SEEN. NO COMMENTS. EXCEPT VIDEO CONTENT. JUST SEEN. NO COMMENTS. EXCEPT VIDEO CONTENT.

Sunday, April 7, 13 Sunday, April 7, 13

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Initial Results
SUMMARY

via Social Listening

1 2 3

Negligible change in sentiment after the Bank of America ad aired on Saturday, April 6th. Very few posts mentioned the ad.

Social mentions remained focused on bigger BoA bank news and events.

13

Volume and Sentiment

In the past week 13,879 mentions of Bank of America

around Bank of America mentions online

Little to no difference in sentiment change after Saturdays ad
In the past day 1,598 mentions of Bank of America

3.3%

485
BLOGS

3.3%

463

FORUMS

2%

35

BLOGS

3%

48

FORUMS

41.8%

5,797
TWITTER

51.4%

7,134
NEWS

64%

1,018

TWITTER

31%

497
NEWS

Sentiment In the past week

3%

Sentiment In the past day

2%

36% 61%

36% 62%

NEGATIVE

NEUTRAL

POSITIVE

NEGATIVE

NEUTRAL

POSITIVE

Sentiment on Saturday was slightly less positive than sentiment on Sunday. On 4/6, 57% of mentions were positive compared to 4/7, where 61% of mentions were positive.

14

Bank of America
word clouds
In the past week In the past day

15

The Posts
Only a handful of posts reacting to the new ad campaign. Most Bank of America mentions were surrounding big news or events for the bank.
Big Bank of America news dominated social posts Relevant Twitter mentions

16

Social Listening
conclusions

1 2

The advertisement on 4/6 did not make enough of an impression to change sentiment or create attention on social media or blogs. Sentiment around Bank of America is generally positive. Sentiment comparison analysis could be conducted on competitors to gain a better understanding of the industry standard.

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Is it

worthy of concern?
It remains to be seen how effective the campaign will be for Bank of America, because: } It launched with a message that is heavier on point of view than on products during a time when customers and clients are primarily focused on whats in it for them. } The work fails to strongly communicate how the Banks network of connections is more extensive, more purposeful, and more helpful for customers and clients. This, coupled with low branding, could hurt the Banks effort to stand out. } Some disconnect exists between Portraits and recent press about banking center updates and digital capabilities. The former leans local and human, while the latter highlights new innovation and technology. While both are important, the lack of connection between them feels like a miss. For a company that prides itself on its digital innovation, its an interesting decision to launch with a message that is remarkably backward looking. Bank of America had come to be seen as a profit-over-people organization. This new, human approach attempts to tackle that perception head-on. If this approach is successful and can truly pay off with a new banking experience, it could be very powerful particularly given that it already has a foot in the door with every other household in America. The cynics are unlikely to be moved, but then its unlikely any marketing would have accomplished that.

18